The advantage of transmitting data and voice information in packet form has long been recognized. Packet switching has proven especially useful where information to be transmitted occurs in short bursts such as in real time interactive data transmissions.
A packet switching network generally comprises an array of packet switches, which switches are generally connected by one or more data links. Such data links maybe formed using optical fibers. Virtual circuits passing through a plurality of packet switches are set up in the network to provide connections between and among user stations that wish to exchange information. An example of a prior art packet switching network is disclosed in Turner "A Fast Packet Switching Network", U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,230.
It is an object of the present invention to enable individual fiber optic links which join the same pair of switches to be grouped together and treated as one large link. This allows the network to provide connections that have a larger bandwidth than a single link. Consequently, the bandwidth of the individual fiber optic links does not limit the size of connections the network can provide.